Recipe: Chicken Spinach Pesto Pizza

So I LOVE PIZZA!!!!  When I finally was brave enough to step out of my comfort zone, I finally made a homemade pizza crust that is to die for, budget friendly, and easy. And being a busy mom this is truly a dream come true! Overall the process takes about an hour but a good portion of that is the pizza actually cooking! I did also get a chance to finally use my KitchenAid Mixer, and let me just say I am in love with this kitchen gadget.

So enough chit chat...let's get to the pizza!

Ingredients:

For crust
1 cup hot water
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (you can also use white flour if making a more traditional pizza)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
1 tablespoon honey

Mix all ingredients in your mixer. I added my dry ingredients first and slowly poured in the hot water. The dough will quickly become sticky and formed. Once all dry ingredients have been mixed with water, let the dough sit in your bowl for about 10-15 minutes to rise some. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 425. I also greased a baking stone with an olive oil mister to get it ready as well. Your dough ball may not rise a lot but will rise some. You can always let it sit longer if you want but I typically do not have that much extra time. 

While your dough is rising, this is the perfect opportunity to gather up your ingredients for your pizza!

For this particular pizza I used:

-spinach
-pre cooked diced chicken
-prediced red onions
-basil pesto sauce (any brand will work)
-diced cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 skim mozzarella cheese
-1/4 cup fat free feta cheese
-1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
-pre sliced portabello mushrooms
-I sprinkled the toppings with Italian herbs and oregano

Take your dough ball and and use a rolling pin to smooth it out on your baking sheet. I was pretty surprised the first time I made this at how think the dough cooked the first time. So if you are wanting a thinner crust use a bigger pan to spread it out more. Honestly, whatever type of crust you personally prefer is how you should make it. Once you have your dough rolled out, place in the oven to "precook" the dough for 10 minutes. This step just helps assure your dough gets fully cooked in the center before adding toppings.

Once you dough has done its initial "pre cooking", remove dough from oven and go to town with your toppings! The fun thing about this is that it is pizza so you can really get creative with your toppings. Once you have your toppings in place, you can garnish with some dried herbs/seasonings if you want, place in oven for an additional 20 minutes.

This dough does not get super crispy so if you are looking for a thinner, crispier crust this may not be the one for you. Although I suspect if you took half the dough and rolled it out you could get an even thinner crust. But the choice is up to you!

I really hope you enjoy this! I know I have the last three times I made it! I had been searching for a way to have pizza (even healthier pizza) that is more budget friendly for my family. This definitely fits the bill for that. All in all you can make a pizza for a few dollars that tastes amazing compared to a more expensive version of the same pizza from a restaurant. Not to mention its healthier, cleaner, and a fun activity you can do with you kids!!

Please feel free to leave comments when you try it! Or ask questions about other healthy & budget friendly recipes!

Until next time...

xoxo
Meghan

Recipe: Not So Clean Adult Hot Chocolate!

So the blizzard/snowzilla of 2016 has definitely left its mark. We spent 48 hours snowed in (although it could have been much worse), and I found myself getting a little antsy. Something about being snowed in with no end in sight to the downfall of snow had me in the kitchen all weekend experimenting with new things. One of these new things was homemade hot chocolate with a little extra adult kick to it. Now anyone who knows me well, knows that mixed drinks aren't really my thing and that I LOVE my wine. But this particular occasion called for some homemade hot chocolate, grown up style! Thank goodness I had all the ingredients on hand, and thank goodness when I took a drink I was adult heaven on that snow day! So much so that I texted my friend and told her she had to try this!!! Bear in mind, yes I know this is not clean. Yes I am aware that as a health and fitness coach & a nurse that I should promote healthy recipes however being snowed in with your kids for going on the 4th day called for a special hot chocolate while the two feet of snow continued to pile up!

Ingredients:
3-4 cups of Milk (you can use any kind, all I had was whole milk on hand, again I am aware this is a not a clean drink but it was too good not to share with you all. You can use almond milk, skim or whatever tickles your fancy)
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (I had Hershey's on hand)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vodka (we had Absolut)
Crème de Menthe
Kahlua
(All liquors should be split into 3 equal parts in one shot glass, use less Crème de Menthe if you don't want to mint flavor to be too strong)

To garnish:
Marshmallows
Chocolate syrup

For Hot Chocolate:

In a small pot, mix 3-4 cups of dairy product of your choosing and heat. Do not boil. Whisk in sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Let this mixture simmer while occasionally stirring.

Remove from heat and take one shot glass and mix equal parts of each liquor, I would use a little less Crème de Menthe if you don't like mint chocolate as much as I do. Pull out your favorite wintery mug, pour hot chocolate in mug and stir in your liquor. Garnish with marshmallows and drizzle chocolate syrup and serve! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. It was strong but an awesome combo of flavors for that wintery weekend we had!

I promise the next recipe will be clean!

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Quinoa Taco Bake

It is no secret that I love me some southwest/Tex-Mex foods, so when I need to change things up a bit, this is often one of the first things I end up doing. I try to figure out another way to eat my beloved taco foods.

Quinoa, by far one of the most perfect foods that exists, is one of my easy go to healthy sides.  So when I needed to change things up this week, I had some quinoa and my other go to ingredients, and quinoa taco bake is the happy result! It's quick. It's ridiculously healthy, and super tasty! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of cooked quinoa. I had about a cup, but used steam in a bag from Target.
1 can corn or 1 cup frozen corn
1 small can of rotel tomatoes
1 can of black beans
1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:

Empty all cans of ingredients into a strainer, and rinse briefly. Combine in a casserole pan with cooked quinoa, stir in taco seasoning. Sprinkle a light layer of cheese on top. Cook at 375 for approximately 15-20 minutes or until cheese is slightly bubbling. Remove, let cook and enjoy!

Total time for dish: about 30 minutes (but most of that is it cooking in the oven)

Total containers for 21 Day fix Meal plan: 1 yellow and 1/2 blue with cheese added

Total money spent: just about $6 per large casserole and each casserole makes double digit servings.

Have a healthy recipe you want to share? Comment below and lets share ideas together!

Interested in learning more about clean eating? Complete challenge group application on home page and let's chat about how to get started on your journey today!

xoxo
Meghan

Recipe: 21 Day Fix Approved Fruit Nachos

So I will be honest...I have a serious sweet tooth. And in my efforts to really buckle down on my nutrition, my sweet does not mix with that all too well. I really wanted something, and before I caved I remembered I had just bought slivered almonds and chopped walnuts. The health and nutritional benefits from these two types of nuts are astonishing, and I definitely wanted to make sure I started incorporating them into my daily routine more often.

Ingredients needed:

1 small granny smith apple

cinnamon

raw honey

slivered almonds and chopped walnuts

Directions:

Slice granny smith apple and measure one purple container full of apple slices. Keep the slices on the thinner side. Arrange you apple slices on the plate, drizzle raw honey over and sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon (its FREE). Fill your blue container for that day with the slivered almonds and chopped walnuts, and then distribute them over your apples. Place entire plate in microwave for about 30 seconds and then ENJOY! An easy, delicious and nutritious afternoon snack and easy sweet tooth fix as well.

Total container count:

1 purple

1 blue

2 tsp

xoxo

Meghan

Hammer and Chisle Journey- Weeks 2-4 I am FRUSTRATED

Never give up right?!? That is what I keep telling myself.  No pounds gone, no inches gone, and a very frustrated and worn out mom is what you get! I am trying to focus on non scale victories as well. I notice my endurance is getting better, my upper body strength is improving, but seriously, no pounds gone and actually ended up gaining a few!!! NOT WHAT I HAD PLANNED ON HAPPENING!

So, I called my coach. She herself has ample experience with these programs and meal plans as well as her own prep for figure competitions. We chatted and we came up with a plan. I am altering my meal plan ever so slightly to accommodate days when I lift heavier and on days that are more cardio heavy. On heavy cardio days I will cut out a carb and reduce my calorie intake that day. The good think about these programs, is that the meal plan allows for flexibility usually within a 200-300 calorie range. Heavy cardio days will also have carbs on 1st and 3rd meals and during the day I will eat lean meats and veggies. As I am also trying to prepare for a really big Spartan race, I have to incorporate running. I am trying to figure out how to do this is we are currently experiencing subarctic temperatures (I am exaggerating a little but seriously not really fond of the idea of running outside in the cold) running outside is tricky, and it may be time to discuss investing in a treadmill.  We also decided that on days when I have really heavy lifting days (which can happen frequently with this particular program), and I'm running  I will add an additional small meal of a protein and carb (so an additional red and yellow).  The red container or additional protein source can be in the form of an extra shake 2-3 days per week. No extras just a scoop and water and chug it down. Seems tricky right? But this is where meal planning and prep makes a huge difference!

After talking to her I felt more confident that I can bust through whatever is happening. I know my nutrition is key to make this work so that is where I am putting most of my focus. I feel as though maybe I have sabotaged myself. I am busting out these amazingly difficult workouts, but not so much busting out the awesome in the kitchen. And with that being said this week is all about experimentation with my nutrition and calorie intake. I have also decided to incorporate at least 2 days per week of fasting cardio and have a day mid week that I cut calories even more, almost like intermittent fasting in hopes that I can trick my metabolism up some.

Now bear in mind, I am NOT A PROFESSIONAL. This is all guess work but I am incorporating ideas from my own coach, research that I do, and keeping my fingers crossed that I find something that works best for me. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS DIFFERENT. So please know what may work for me or someone else may very well not work for YOU. You do have to be willing to put in the effort and work to find what works best for you. This is just currently what I am trying.

One thing I can say, is that I have never before put this much effort into something like this. Often times my efforts were limited to just cutting calories significantly, not working out consistently, and not eating the right amounts of the right foods. Of course I never really lost the weight and if I did I just gained it right back. I never really focused on changing my habits and NEVER had a coach to go to for additional support and advice. I am learning most of this for the first time and it is tricky. I have to find what will work best for my body and the heavy amount of training & preparation that is happening for this race. Bear in mind, this race is a few short months away so there is no time to hold back. This MUST BE 100% ALL IN. NO SHORTCUTS. NO QUITTING. NO WHINING WHEN IT GETS HARD. NO EXCUSES. JUST DO IT.

Here's to new beginnings and never quitting or giving up on myself.

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Clean Apple Pie Oatmeal

Who LOVES oatmeal? I do! And I LOVE oatmeal with really good flavor. There is just something about eating a warm, tasty breakfast that makes me so happy in the morning. However, the little premade packets oatmeal or traditional ways of eating it often times take the healthy right out of oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of those foods that everyone should eat, and I have to often times think of ways to make it differently so I don't get bored with it but I am still keeping it clean. And then this happened...Apple Pie Oatmeal. It seriously tastes like warm apple pie. It is in one short word: AMAZING! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It is even toddler approved!

Ingredients:

Plain rolled, steel cut or quick oats

1/2 purple container of unsweetened applesauce

Cinnamon

Small chunks of diced apple

Raw honey

Directions:

Cook oatmeal according to package instructions. I use water with mine to avoid added calories or fat from milk. If you need milk I recommend using unsweetened almond milk. Dice up on slice of an apple, any will do. Granny smith would be particularly delicious on top. Once your oatmeal is prepared, measure out one yellow container of your cooked oatmeal, mix with applesauce, and use approximately 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp raw honey and mix it all together in your bowl. Top with diced apples, and drizzle a very small amount of raw honey on top and you're finished.

I promise you will love it!

Total containers used:

1 yellow

1/2 purple

1tsp

Have comments or other clean recipes to share? Comment below and let's chat!

Want to know how to get started on your own clean eating journey, CLICK ON "CHALLENGE GROUP APPLICATION" TAB AT TOP OF HOME PAGE to start you journey today!

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Grandmas Crockpot Beans and Potatoes- A clean version of a childhood favorite

If you grew up in the country like I did, many foods were considered comfort foods. We often had an amazing casserole for a meal, biscuits, beans, gravy covered stuff, and meals that we could cook from what we picked in the garden. One of those meals was beans and potatoes. I never realized that eating green beans could be bad for me but when I realized it was cooked with good ole bacon grease and other yummy flavorings, I decided I wanted to try it in a cleaner way so I could still have a little bit of home during the cold weather months. 

Ingredients:

Fresh green beans, cleaned, snapped (1lb of beans it cooks down and this is a weeks worth of beans)

Turkey Bacon

Fresh golden potatoes

Yellow onion diced 

Place all of the above in a crockpot, season with a little salt (remember we are keeping this clean) and pepper. Place on high heat and cook for 8 hours. 

Once its done, serve warm and enjoy. 

Portion containers: 

1 yellow

1 green 

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Clean Chocolate Lava Cake with peanut butter frosting

Need to calm your sweet tooth? This clean chocolate lava cake is as about as clean as it gets and it satisifies the sweet tooth. 

Ingredients for cake:

1 scoop chocolate Shakeology

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Ingredients for icing: 

1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons plain Greek Yogurt

Directions:

Mix chocolate shakeology and almond milk in one bowl. Place in microwave and heat for 45 seconds. Set aside. 

Combine peanut butter and Greek yogurt in a bowl, and stir. Place this mixture on top of your cake and voila! Sweet tooth satisfied all while keeping it clean. 

Portion Containers used:

1 1/4 red

2 tsp 

Compliments to my coach Deidra Penrose for original recipe! I changed up the icing portion a tad to my personal preference!

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Kale Chips

Need something crunchy in your life but don't want to destroy a perfectly good clean eating day? Kale chips may just be the answer!!! Now, to be completely honest, I am not the biggest fan of kale. I have tried and tried, and so far have only found a couple ways I can eat it. Well in my search for something easy and quick for meal prep this week I tried kale chips. And I think I can add this to my list of ways I can actually consume kale! 

It's super easy, and super affordable to make this super healthy snack. 

Ingredients:

fresh kale

Extra virgin olive oil

sea salt 

pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F

Place 2 cups of kale in a bowl. Take approximately 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix with kale. Make sure all of the kale is covered. Sprinkle in a little sea salt and pepper for seasoning & mix it all together as well. Place seasoned and oiled kale on a cookie sheet, place in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until Kale is nice and crispy. Enjoy! 

Portion containers used:

1 green per serving

xoxo

Meghan

Spicy Balsamic Pasta tossed with Turkey Meatballs and Veggies

Can we just say holy yum?????

I have been experimenting more and more with balsamic vinegar because I really do enjoy the flavor it adds to foods. So this time with my premade food, I was wondering how in the world could I change this up a little without having to basically recook my meal.... and then it hit me!!! Lets try balsamic vinegar with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, and a dab of olive oil to give my meal some extra zest .

And let me tell you...it was a success.

Now for this you can use any old veggie that you desire...I just happened to have a meal prepped already that included Brussel sprouts so that is what I ended up with. And if you aren't a Brussel sprout kind of person, please know you can switch it up. I just really enjoyed the very robust flavor this little combo provided, and though I would share. 

Ingredients:

whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained

lean turkey meatballs (mine are store bought from good ole Target but feel free to make your own if want)

Steamed veggies of your choice

If following 21 Day fix meal plan you would need: one yellow for pasta, one green for veggies, and one red for meatballs (This is the easiest way to portion it out)

You will also need: 

Crushed red pepper flakes

Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive oil 

A little sprinkle of garlic doesn't hurt either 

Pre cook your pasta, meatballs, and veggies and then place them in a bowl large enough to mix everything together. For one single portion for one person, use 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, and add crushed red pepper flakes based your preferred level of spicy. Sprinkle in a pinch of garlic either minced or garlic powder and mix together. This is one those meals you can season to your personal preference. I loved loved loved this combo of flavors, and I am sure that you will too!

Have some interesting recipe ideas? Feel free to share! I love trying new things and adding more flavor to my life. 

Total containers used for this: 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green 100% Fix approved 

Until next time 

xoxo

Meghan

My First Super Friday Event as a Coach!

On January 8th, 2016 I had the unique privilege to attend my very first Super Friday Event in Pittsburgh. I was FINALLY able to meet my coach, and several other teammates that I chat with on a daily basis. And let me tell you....it was AMAZING!

Forever Fit Team Picture and Post 10pm workout with master trainers

It was of course a blackout party that evening hence my glow gear

The CEO of Beachbody Carl Daikeler

And this happened, a chance to meet Autumn Calabrese!

I cannot even begin to describe how nervous I was to meet everyone, meet Autumn, and throw myself into a place where I really did not know a single person there. I had spoken to some on the phone before, or had conference calls with them but meeting them in real life is different. At least it is for me as I can be a little socially awkward in situations like this. But I managed. And I met a ton of amazing women. We laughed, we worked out of course, we had an epic cheat meal, we learned, and we shared stories. And before long my nerves settled, and I felt as if I was surrounded by friends. 

I had never attended an event before, not even for my nursing career, but I can say that I will be making it a priority to attend more Beachbody functions in the future. The energy at an event like this is something I wish I could experience every single day. Absolutely amazing. I was in absolute awe of an entire crowd of people all there for the same purpose, all working towards changing lives, and building relationships with others that will last a lifetime. 

I remember at one point while listening to Carl Daikeler speak that I wish I had learned of this amazing opportunity sooner. He spoke of why he feels his company needs to grow even more in this new year. And not just so he can make more money, but because it means that we as coaches have gone above and beyond in helping others lead healthier and more fulfilling lives. It means that we as coaches have gotten one step closer to ending the trend on obesity in this country. And as a nurse, knowing how much of that impacts healthcare in the United States, my decision to be a part of something this amazing was reaffirmed right then and there. 

I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in the Dream Team training as well. I listened to the top coach in the entire company, Melanie Mitro, speak about how she grew her business into what it is today. But she made a comment at one point in the speech that just hit me, "You just have to do it. Just do it. " And you know what? She's right! And I knew then I would reconsider the goals I set for this year. I knew then I wasn't dreaming big enough, nor did those goals reflect an adequate amount of hard work that matches up with WHY this is important to me. Now my goals are bigger. My goals didn't match my dreams, so a little adjustment was in order. Now I think they match up more, and I know that the effort I put forth from here on out for this year will be reflected in my results at the end of the year. 

I listened to the stories of several top coaches, and their stories just resonated with me in such a big way. I frantically took notes, wrote down ideas in my phone so I wouldn't forget later. Decided that this event was the biggest turning point for me. 

I walked away feeling inspired. Excited. Motivated, Determined. My brain was and is still going 100 miles per hour, and I often times find myself having to stop to write something down so I won't forget it later. It's almost overwhelming but in such a good way. I encourage you or anyone interested in learning more about the coaching opportunity to attend a Super Saturday event if you ever get the chance. You will leave feeling empowered, and inspired to leave your mark in the world. Your legacy. 

I know now...it's go time. 

And I cannot wait to see where I can go from here...

xoxo

Meghan 

My Hammer & Chisel Journey- Week 1 and some brutal honesty

Soooo.......

Let me just be real about one thing, I fell off the wagon. HARD. I wasn't diligently following my meal plan that I know works, and I was getting sick EVERY TWO WEEKS. I am not making excuses for my lack results but as you can see I messed up. And now I am paying the price. I have always been the woman who really has to watch what she eats. I look at food, and I gain weight. So that being said, a few extra pounds have come back sadly but that just means I am more determined than ever to make them disappear for good. So I am putting myself out there, nasty pictures and all and plan to do a weekly update on my Hammer and Chisel journey. I have a goal to complete the Spartan Trifecta this year so I gotta get my butt in gear.

I am pretty disappointed in myself but I am using that as nothing but pure motivation to FINALLY reach my goals. No turning back!

Week 1, Front

Week 1, Side

Week 1, Back

Could be worse right? Well let me tell you it is not easy to put yourself out there like this and allow yourself to be judged but I hope that my story with this particular program and the goals that I have for this year, will encourage others to take that giant leap of faith as well. I am hoping that you too can draw inspiration from my journey as well. It isn't easy, but I know that it will be worth it.

Week 2 Meal Plan

So admittedly one of my weakest areas in nutrition, and knowing that nutrition is 80% of the battle I know I need to buckle down. So I al allowing my OCD tendencies to kick in and get myself extra planned and prepared. I know that failing to plan, is planning to fail. I DO NOT INTEND ON FAILING.

Now week 1, pictures are posted because I lost my week zero pictures, not on purpose I promise but it happened so here is where I am starting. This is a long program so there will be plenty of pictures to post.  Week 1 resulted in a net loss of zero everything but again my nutrition wasn't perfect. So again, I am posting this to keep myself accountable during a very important time for me personally. Feel free to comment, discuss or share. I am being brave and putting myself out there, but please no judging. I am not perfect. I am a mom and a wife just trying to finally get in the best shape of her life. It has been a dream for me for my entire life to have this happen, and there is no better time than now.

Will check back in next week when hopefully there are more results to post!! Until next time....

xoxo

Meghan